Trousers.



1m. 666,246. Patented 1an. l5, 190|. E. F. HENnEnsoN.

TROUSERS.

(Application led Mar. 8, 1900.;

(No Model.)

invento/1 TH: imams Persns co.. PHOTO-umn., wumNcToN. n. c.

l UNrrEn STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EDWIN F. HENDERSON, OF BENTONVILLE, ARKANSAS.

TROUSERS.

SPECIFICATION forming 'part of Letters Patent No. 666,246, dated January15, 1901.

Application filed March 8, 1900. Serial No. 7,944. (No model.)

1'0 CLM w/'wm t may concer-n:

Be it known that I, EDWIN F. HENDERSON, a citizen of the United States,residingat Bentonville, in the county of Benton and State of Arkansas,have invented a new and useful Pantaloons-Front, of which thefollowingis a specification.

My present invention relates to improvements in closures for garments ofthat type ordinarily designated pantaloons, but applicable to variousother garments characterized by the provision of an opening or flyextending from the crotch of the garment toits upper edge or waist band.

One object. of the invention is to provide a neat secure closure or flywhich will adjust itself without wrinkling to accommodate the variouspositions assumed by the wearer' and which will obviate the necessityfor the use of the row of buttons usually located along one edge of theclosure and located under the overlapping edge, which frequently worksback and reveals the buttons to the material annoyance ot' the wearer.

A still further object of the invention is to compose the closu reof anumber of oppositelydisposed flaps, each extending from the crotch andso arranged that their connecting or fastening devices will be locatedon a direct line between the crotch and points of attachment oftheSuspenders or other supporting devices, so that the weight of thetrousers will be sus tained in part by each of the liaps and thusrelieving in great measure the strain ordinarily produced upon thematerial between the crotch and the waist band, which frequently resultsin the stretching of the material and the distortion of the closure.

Further and subordinate objects of the invention will hereinafter morefully appear.

To the accomplishment of the objects stated the invention consists informing pantaloons or like articles of apparel with overlapping edgesextending from the crotch to the upper edge of the waistband, the inneredge being provided with a triangular liap secured to the inside of thepantaloons on a direct line between the first suspender -button and thecrotchJ and overlapped by what I shall term the inside ap, the oppositeside edges of which diverge from the crotch in line with the firstsuspender-buttons at opposite sides ofthe closure, one of said edgesbeing permanentlyT connected to the garment and the other edge beingprovided with detachable fastening means.

The invention further consists in certain details of construction andarrangement, which will hereinafter more fully appear and will beillustrated in the accompanying drawings and defined in the appendedclaim.

In said drawings, Figure 1 is a general view illustrating theapplication of the garment. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a portion ofthe garment, showing the overlapping edge or ly thrown back to revealthe arrangement of the intermediate and inside flaps; and Fig. 3 is aview similar to Fig. 2 looking from the rear.

Referring to the numerals of reference employed to designatecorresponding parts in the several views, l indicates a pair of trousersopen at the front, as usual, and having overlapping edges, the inner ofwhich being indicated by the numeral 2, and the outer of which,constituting the dy, being indicated by the numeral 3. From the edge 2is eX- tended what I will term the intermediate iiap 4, having its upperedge 5 disposed just below the waistband 6 and its longitudinal edge 7extending in a direct line from the crotch 8 to a point just below thefront suspender-button 9 at one side of the trousers, the frontsuspender-buttons 9 and l0 being located at what will hereinafterl betermed the points of attachment to the garment of the Suspenders orsupports. At its upper outer corner the intermediate flap 4 is designedto be detachably secured to the garment, to which is affixed a button l1for engagement with a buttonhole l2 in the flap for the purpose ofclosing the upper end of the iiy. The overlapping edge 3 is providedwith a button 13 for engagement with a buttonhole 14 in the edge 2,preferably located at the end of the waistband 6.

The structure thus far described is ordinary, except that theintermediate flap 4 is so arranged that its longitudinal edge isdetachably secured to the inside of the trousers in a direct line withthe crotch and the rst suspender-button, in order that the weight of theapparel is sustained by the ap, which instead of being connected to thefabric at nu- IOO merons points springs directly from the crotch andtherefore serves to facilitate the suspension of the garment Withoutliability to wrinkling or stretching.

For the purpose of more eectually securing the desired closure of thefly Without necessity for the employment of a vertically-arranged seriesof fasteners and in a manner to reinforce the garment at the front Iprovide an inner flap 15, of triangular form, extending across theinnerside of the closure in a direction opposite the iiap 4, whichlatter is therefore disposed between the fly 3 and the inner iiap 15,for Which reason said flap 4 has been heretofore designated as theintermediate ap.

The inner flap 15 is a separate piece of material, and its side edges 16and 17 diverge upwardly from the crotch 8 to dispose the edge 17in adirect line from the front sus pender-button 10 to the crotch and itsedge 16 from the crotch to the front suspenderbutton 9, the edge 16,which is permanently attached to the garment by a line of stitching 18,being located closely adjacent to the edge 7 of the flap 4, inasmuch asthese continuous edges of the intermediate and inner iiaps are bothdesigned to be located in the line of strain exerted by the supportingdevices from their point of attachment to the crotch. At its outercorner-that is to say, at the juncture of the edge 17 and the top edge19 of the flap l-the latter is detachably secured to the garment at theside of the closure or fly opposite the attachment of the iiap 4t, as bya button 20, fixed to the gar nient and arranged to pass through abuttonhole 21 in the Hap 15.

If desired, the garment may be provided with hooks 22 upon the inside,adjacent to the edge 3, for engagement with eyes or loops 23 upon theouter side of the material adjacent to the edge 2; but these last-nameddevices for effecting the closure are supplemental to the v[iaps and areordinarily not employed.

By the consideration of the structure described it will be seen that theclosure at the front of the garment is effected first by overlapping theedges and next by providing the inner edge With a ap locatedintermediate of asecond iiap, which overlapsit in the opposite directionand constitutes a triangular sheath or reinforcing-flap, which not onlyserves to perfect the closure, but which serves to rcinforce the garmentat the front and to constitute a triangular sheath, the edges of whichextend from thecrotchin direct lines with the points of attachment ofthe supportmas, for instance, the adjacent suspender-buttons 9 and l0 ateither side of the closure; but While the present embodiment of myinvention appears at this time to be preferable I desire to reserve theright to eect such modifications as may fall properly within the scopeof the protection prayed.

What I claim is- A pair of pantaloons having opposed front edges, one ofsaid edges being provided with a pair of fiaps, one of which is unitedat its inner edge to the garment by a seam extending in a straight linefrom the crotch of the garment to a point adjacent to the point ofattachment of the garment-supporter, and the other of said opposed edgesbeing provided with a single lap disposed intermediate of the flapsfirst named, each of the several flaps being of substantially triangularform and having its outer edge disposed in a straight line from thecrotch of the pantaloons to a point adjacent to the point of attachmentto the garment-supporter.

In testimony that I claim Athe foregoing as my invention I have signedmy name, in the presence of the subscribing witnesses, this 24th day ofFebruary, 1900.

EDWIN F. HENDERSN.

Witnesses:

I. N. STILEs, B. F. BERRY.

